Another vital game in the Western Conference is ahead on Saturday afternoon when Vancouver Whitecaps FC play host to Real Salt Lake at BC Place. Whitecaps FC begin back-to-back home games four points out of the top five and the playoff-paying positions, following their 3-0 win at the Montréal Impact last weekend. Real have fallen into second place in the West after back-to-back defeats, last a 2-1 home loss to the San Jose Earthquakes.

The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Luis Gil and Javier Morales scored second-half goals to lead Real to a 2-0 win May 4 at Rio Tinto Stadium. The teams first reached a 1-1 draw April 13 at BC Place, as Vancouver’s Camilo Sanvezzo and RSL’s Olmes García each scored.

Whitecaps FC are unbeaten at home vs. RSL, with wins in their first two meetings at BC Place before the draw earlier this season.

Real are unbeaten vs. Vancouver at Rio Tinto Stadium, with three wins in four all-time meetings there.

RSL took the lead two minutes into the second half. From an goal kick, Nick Rimando opted for a quick restart and hit the ball into space 60 yards upfield to an open Joao Plata. He then bent a beautiful ball to the center of the box where Luis Gil timed his run to perfection headed it in off the right post.

Whitecaps FC nearly leveled terms in the 62nd minute when Corey Hertzog's final touch from a long ball snuck past Rimando and was headed toward the net before a sliding Nat Borchers cleared it off the line.

Real hit for the insurance goal in the 71st minute. Plata again played provider, delivering a cross into the area that Javier Morales tucked away with a professional finish into the bottom left corner.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC put an end to their winless run after five matches, defeating the Montréal Impact 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at Stade Saputo. Whitecaps FC are in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with 41 points from 29 matches.

LAST MATCH

Whitecaps FC put a nose in front in the seventh minute. After Nigel Reo-Coker sent in a cross from the right, Impact right back Hassoun Camara slipped in the penalty area and handled the ball. From the resulting penalty kick, Kenny Miller converted low to goalkeeper Troy Perkins’ right.

The visitors broke the open with two very late goals through substitute Camilo Sanvezzo. First, on the counterattack in the 89th minute, he squeezed a shot at the far post and just past Perkins.

Camilo completed his brace two minutes later, running onto a ball hoofed out of the Whitecaps end and finding a pocket of space on the edge of the area before curling a beauty in the top right corner.

Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie made two changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium. Jay DeMerit came into central defense for Brad Rusin, and Tommy Heinemann started up top in place of Camilo Sanvezzo.

Whitecaps FC put an end to their five-game winless streak overall, their first win since a 2-0 defeat of San Jose on Aug. 10. It also ended the club’s road winless streak at six games, the first win on their travels since a 1-0 win at D.C. United on June 19.

Camilo Sanvezzo returned to his goal-scoring form, scoring his first goals since Aug. 10. Sanvezzo is now tied for second in the MLS Golden Boot standings with 16 goals, with 14 goals over his last 18 MLS games.

It was also Sanvezzo’s fourth two-goal game of the season, now tied for the league lead in multi-goal games. Both goals came after Camilo came off the substitutes’ bench after leaving the San Jose match with an injury.

“Last game, Camilo came off the bench and did very well so he might be in line to start this one,” Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie said.

Kenny Miller also netted his first goal since Aug. 10, converting the penalty kick to open the scoring. But there was an injury concern after Miller was forced off the field at the hour mark with what was later determined to be an adductor strain.

“Ultimately Kenny and Camilo have scored a lot of goals for us this season,” Rennie said. “Playing the way they were there, there's every chance they can go and add to that and really put a high number up there.”

Tommy Heinemann made his first start since April 20, coming into the central forward role and playing 66 minutes.

“With Montreal, we specifically saw things that we thought Tommy could exploit and I think he did a good job doing that,” Rennie said. “Every game is a little different, but we want to keep the team as settled as we can.”

Jay DeMerit made his first start since the season opener on March 2, after coming on as a substitute the week before after missing 26 league matches following a rupture of his Achilles tendon.

David Ousted recorded a second consecutive clean sheet and his third in eight league starts for Whitecaps FC.

“I think that he made a couple of really key saves and also handled the ball very well on crosses well under pressure,” said Rennie. “Another clean sheet. Two in a row. It was interesting a couple of games before that he didn't have many chances to make saves, but in the games now where he's had chances to make a save he's done it.”

REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake suffered their second consecutive loss, falling 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL are in second place in the Western Conference with 48 points from 29 games.

LAST MATCH

The game's three goals came in a span of four minutes early on. The Quakes took the lead in the 18th minute when Steven Lenhart thundered home a Cordell Cato cross with a powerful header.

A minute later, Real pulled level when Javier Morales found himself completely unmarked at the edge of the goal area on a corner from Kyle Beckerman, and sent an easy one-time finish past Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch.

But San Jose responded just two minutes later when Shea Salinas sent in a free kick from the left side that Lenhart got his head to, knocking it past helpless RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

RSL head coach Jason Kreis made two changes to the team that fell 2-0 to Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field. Khari Stephenson came into the midfield for Luis Gil, and Devon Sandoval started up top in place of Robbie Findley.

Real have dropped consecutive league matches for just the second time this season, after losing back-to-back games July 20 and 27 to Kansas City and New York.

“We just weren’t quite good enough in the attacking third of the field. There were a lot of players in the box – a lot of players to deal with and move around – and we needed some special plays, but we just didn’t quite get them tonight,” said RSL head coach Jason Kreis.

Real also allowed two goals in a game for the third consecutive match, and have conceded multiple goals nine times in their last 12 matches. The other three have been defensive shutouts.

Real have allowed nine goals from set pieces this season, fourth-most in MLS. They have conceded 11 goals through headers, which is third-most in the league, and 11 goals from crosses, which is the most in MLS.

"When it comes to the two goals that came against us, I thought there was just some real lack of focus again and commitment to stay with marks in the box," said Kreis. "Both balls were served into the box and headed by the same player, who was literally unmarked on both plays. It's not good enough."

Said defender Nat Borchers: “We talked about all year how we have to be better on set pieces. We watched the tape and knew they were taking early set pieces. I hold my hand up for both of those goals. I was marking Lenhart. He just got inside of me both times, and a guy like that in the box is going to bury his chances.”

Javier Morales scored his eighth goal of the season; he has three goals and three assists over the last six matches.

Alvaro Saborío missed his second consecutive match with a calf injury picked up while on international duty with Costa Rica, and his third match of the last four.

“We miss him because he’s a good player, but it’s not that we don’t have the skills because in other games, [Joao] Plata and [Olmes] Garcia have scored,” Morales said. “Everyone is scoring goals; I don’t think that missing Saborio is the problem. Even today we scored a goal. It’s tough when you lose the ball and end up defending set pieces. We have to know. We talked before the game that they only have one way to score. We have to work a little bit harder.”